FIRSTcast format change

[Matt Krass]

Proposal for new FIRSTcast episode Format

Main points:

• 4 Hosts
• 2 Guests
• 2 Hosts interview 1 guest for their each segment
• Rookie Tips become FIRST Tip of the Show
• Potentially longer episodes
• Roundtable discussions added


Typical show format:

Introductions

FIRST Headlines

Hosts A and B interview Guest A for his/her segment

Hosts C and D interview Guest B for his/her segment

FIRST Tip of the Show

Roundtable discussion/debate with JVN and Karthik, you pick the topic and these knuckleheads will fight to the death (or maybe til they’re out of breath) over it. This is them uncut and unseen anywhere online before, you don't want to miss this, we got a sample in our studio and all we can say is Wow is it fun to hear.

Mailbag

Signoffs


There you have it, some new content, a new host and hopefully a better show, please vote in the poll and tell us what you think in the thread, suggestions not only welcome but requested.

[Greg Marra]

Don't overly format the show. If you try to stick too hard to this, you will destroy exciting spontaneity.

Also, I don't see why ALL the hosts can't interview the guests, because I would be afraid that by restricting who gets to talk you will miss out on interesting questions.

Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see how the show gets better once the game is actually announced!

[Matt Krass]

Originally Posted by Greg Marra

Don't overly format the show. If you try to stick too hard to this, you will destroy exciting spontaneity.

Also, I don't see why ALL the hosts can't interview the guests, because I would be afraid that by restricting who gets to talk you will miss out on interesting questions.

Keep up the good work. I can't wait to see how the show gets better once the game is actually announced!

The JVN/Karthik segment should have more than enough spontaneity for everyone

While the questions are interesting, we find our guest segments are becoming a bit of a run with us all constantly questioning and we want to try to control that a bit, so there's less rambling and tangents and such.

Anything else guys? Keep em coming!

[Pat Fairbank]

I like the sound of this new format. One problem I have with the past episodes is that I soon forget whose voice belongs to whom, and this format should fix that.

Only, I don't think longer episodes are a good idea, unless you're gonna be packing the content a lot more densely than up to now, 'cause otherwise the attention of your audience is going to wane. My preference would be for each episode to be no longer than a half hour or so.

Keep up the good work!

[Joe Matt]

Originally Posted by Pat Fairbank

I like the sound of this new format. One problem I have with the past episodes is that I soon forget whose voice belongs to whom, and this format should fix that.

Only, I don't think longer episodes are a good idea, unless you're gonna be packing the content a lot more densely than up to now, 'cause otherwise the attention of your audience is going to wane. My preference would be for each episode to be no longer than a half hour or so.

Keep up the good work!

I think longer episodes would require more work for the editor and more encoding time. But hey, that's just me.

[Ethulin]

Originally Posted by Matt Krass

Proposal for new FIRSTcast episode Format

Main points:

• 4 Hosts
• 2 Guests
• 2 Hosts interview 1 guest for their each segment
• Rookie Tips become FIRST Tip of the Show
• Potentially longer episodes
• Roundtable discussions added


Typical show format:

Introductions

FIRST Headlines

Hosts A and B interview Guest A for his/her segment

Hosts C and D interview Guest B for his/her segment

FIRST Tip of the Show

Roundtable discussion/debate with JVN and Karthik, you pick the topic and these knuckleheads will fight to the death (or maybe til they’re out of breath) over it. This is them uncut and unseen anywhere online before, you don't want to miss this, we got a sample in our studio and all we can say is Wow is it fun to hear.

Mailbag

Signoffs


There you have it, some new content, a new host and hopefully a better show, please vote in the poll and tell us what you think in the thread, suggestions not only welcome but requested.

I think NOT structuring it so rigidly is a good idea. It will allow you to do more of what you like rather then what you have blocked out for.

[Ryan M.]

Sounds sweet!

[Ian Curtis]

I'd also like to second that they don't get longer unless more content is packed into them, unless of course you lengthen the history segment, at which point I'd be more than glad to listen to it until it finished.

[Matt Krass]

Ok, looks like we're going to making some changes to that proposal...

We're gonna lose the idea of lengthening the episodes, but they won't be getting any shorter either.

We're staying with 4 hosts, but there's gonna be a few changes to the roster.

The format proposed was an example of how an episode could go, it won't be a solid schedule, but we will follow it somewhat, we'll retain our current method of flowing between topics and people. But like some of you said, it's hard tracking those voices, so this should help somewhat.

Also, can we get some opinions of the JVN/Karthik debating?

[Jay Trzaskos]

I'd actually like to hear JVN and Karthiks thoughts on their regional win while coaching together. How about it guys... anyone else interested to hear what it's like to have these two great coaches working together in the booth? Basically let's hear these guys shout at each other about coaching styles.
JT

[Chase]

I think this format is great! It will make it easier to go back and find a segment you've listened to. Less jumping around, you'll know about how far along you should click for FIRST tip for example.

[Eric L]

Also, can we get some opinions of the JVN/Karthik debating?

I think thats an excellent idea. both of them always have good points and opinions. i personally think this would spice up the show.

[Joe Matt]

Originally Posted by Matt Krass

Also, can we get some opinions of the JVN/Karthik debating?

Matt, I'd poo my pants to hear one of those.

[Jessica Boucher]

Matt, you know I love what you & the FIRSTCasters are doing...so, no offense, but are you really going to get a true response on any specific person as a guest on a public forum?
I find listening to JVN and Karthik talk to be very interesting, but if I wasn't interested, I'm not going to publicly post and say I don't want to listen to them...not only are they readers on the forum, but we are a community that is naturally skewed towards being extra-gracious...thus, non-response is not as clear as it should be (it should be "I don't care enough to respond", not "No, I don't want to hear them" or "I don't care enough to respond", with no idea as to what percentage of each).

This goes with anyone listed as a potential guest previous to air.

As for the other suggestions, I would suggest researching the average length of older, more popular, but similar genre podcasts before changing the length. Because of audience similarities, you may be able to find the optimum length for your segment without messing with the length much.

[Conor Ryan]

its an intresting approach. Work loads would shift around cutting down on editing time, but as an experinced host on the show sometimes you never really know who is gonna come up with a question and when, it sorta has an open form to it, its more of like a recorded conversation than anything.

As for the potentially longer episodes, so far there asre episodes creeping up on 45 minutes. If its gonna get any longer its gonna need something to break it up a little bit or some sort of attention loss will become prominent to a listener.